Creatives Do Money Eowyn Levene

This week on the Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode #36

{I realized} “I’m not able to use money in a way that supports my values because I don’t have enough of it.  Even though I might believe that money is the root of all evil, NOT having money right now is making me invest in these companies that I don’t believe in, that I don’t align with.”



Amy Kuretsky on Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode 36



Have a question about getting better with money when you’re self-employed? Email Eowyn your question in text or audio form: hello@plumtreemoney.com and she’ll answer it in a future episode.



This episode is a good one, folks, and I’m so glad I get to share it finally.  My guest, Amy and I talk about how being a teenage punk influenced her thinking about money, and her work to let go of poverty mindset. Taking a month off of work each year to escape the MN winter – no small feet for someone self-employed in service areas.  Amy takes us into how she manages affordable pricing and accessibility as a whole in her work, and how her approach is evolving over time.



And we get into what it’s like to purchase a home when you and your spouse are both self-employed, including touching on the guilt and shame that can come with unearned privilege, even when we’re doing our best to use our privilege to create the change we wish to see in the world.   Amy Kuretsky (she/her) is a breathwork facilitator and wellness coach for mind, body, and business working on occupied and unceded Dakota and Anishinaabe territory. Her work is focused on helping radical business owners thrive in the liminal space between work and life. She believes that the health of our physical and emotional bodies are inextricably tied to the health of our businesses, and that when we work in this overlap we can build businesses that are heart-centered and healing for both the individual and the collective.



When she’s not supporting others, she’s hiking in the woods with her pup, playing nerdy board games, or pulling tarot cards. Connect further with Amy Kuretsky and her work Instagram @amykuretsky (she’s currently on hiatus from that space though)Amy’s coworking groupAmy’s website Resources / Links Money Coaching with Eowyn
Thank you for listening to this episode of Creatives Do Money Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts so more folks can find the show and enjoy it too.


Theme Music and Mixing Michael P Atkinson:  www.michael-p-atkinson.com

I’ll be taking a summer break, to return with solo episodes in some shape or form in the Fall. I will continue to share interview episodes here and there though!



This week on the Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode #35

For today, just a few thoughts about reasons your Future Self will be SO glad you created them a Money Calendar

This week on the Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode #34



My guest today is Nicole Antoinette. She is a writer, recovering self-help junkie, retreat & mastermind group facilitator, and the host of the wonderful Real Talk Radio podcast.



And over time, Nicole has crafted a business that supports her and helps her to enact her values, and to create a world she wants to see, on a tiny microcosm level, as she puts it. She’s also very open about her finances and how she handles money, and I’m excited to share this conversation.  



Have a question about getting better with money when you’re self-employed? Email Eowyn your question in text or audio form: hello@plumtreemoney.com and she’ll answer it in a future episode.



How Nicole came to pay off $50k in student loans by the time she was 27 years old



The defining childhood moment that prompted some extreme financial moves to pay off her loans so quicklyThe commitment she made to herself after that childhood experience.The lasting negative money thoughts that she’s slowly worked through.How scarcity mindset plays in for her, and how she tackles it.



” A lot of what interests me about solo self-employment.  I love the fact that the business model itself can be a way to enact your values, or the world that you want to see, on a tiny microcosm scale.” Nicole Antoinette on Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode 34



Navigating chronic mental health challenges and being a solo self-employed individual



The impact of some rapid class changes in her life, first with parents and then with former spouse. And how that included moving into a tiny van! Why you can just buy the damn pine nuts and enjoy them. How running and sobriety have informed her business journey



On her radical business practices



How she has built in paying her podcast guests Community participation and support through Patreon Radical financial openness as a value



Connect further with Nicole and her work:



Nicole's Wild Letters Substack

Nicole’s website



Thank you for listening to this episode of Creatives Do Money Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share, subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts so more folks can find the show and enjoy it too.



Theme Music and Sound Mixing

Michael P Atkinson:  www.michael-p-atkinson.com

If I take myself back to the core habits that are the foundation of the financial systems and structures I have set up to build stability and resilience around money, here are the top three.



Have a question you want answered on the podcast? Email Eowyn your Q in text or audio form: hello@plumtreemoney.com I can’t wait to hear from you!



This week on the Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode #33



When we take the basics seriously, everything changes. So today, I’m introducing you to the 3 simple basic habits that will take you where you want to go in your financial life.



For more about Habit creating and dissolving, start with:


Sarah Von Bargen’s Habit School of Yes and Yes (and Creatives Do Money Episode 28 )

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

This week on the: Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode #32



Your time is a finite resource, one that you never get back once used up or given away.  And how you choose to spend your time has huge implications for your business, and your life as a whole. Without any judgement or shoulds, my guest today takes us into the arena of time tracking and becoming intentional around spending our time on and in our business.   She tells us about the one app that has made all the difference for her. The big personal event that was her wake up around pricing her services, the one kind of time tracking folks leave out but that can have a huge impact on your success. And so much more.



Jennifer Duann Fultz is the founder of Chief Executive Auntie, a blog and podcast where she helps Asian American and other BIPOC freelancers and creatives earn more money. She believes in leveraging our identity and struggles as an asset, not a hindrance. She also consults as part of the Embrace Change team and teaches other business owners how to create transformational learning experiences.



“When I talk to people about pricing, and I asked “Hey, how would your life be different if you if your prices were higher?”



The number one thing I hear people say is I would work less. It’s like, yes, yes, that’s it. That’s exactly what it is! Your pricing and your time are so interwoven, because your time is the only… time is the only thing you can never get more of. You can get more money, you can get more resources, but you never get back time that you have spent. And so yeah, learning to manage time and manage money have kind of been like a parallel journey for me.”



Jennifer Duann Fultz on Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode 32



Have a question about getting better with money when you’re self-employed? Email Eowyn your question in text or audio form: hello@plumtreemoney.com and she’ll answer it in a future episode.



What does it look like when we don’t value our time, or really know what we do with it? During a big change of life, Jenn realized she actually couldn’t really pay herself, let alone take care of all her other business expenses and needs with her current prices.A crucial decision at the outset of her current business that set her up to make the most of her time in the office.



How the pandemic influenced her relationship to her time.

5 categories it’s ideal to track when looking at how you spend your time for your work and business:


Marketing – connecting with current and potential clients and customers
Sales – client time, consults, proposal writing
Service / Product production – working on what you actually get paid for
Operations – bookkeeping, errands, ordering things, updating subscriptions
Business Development – education, coaching for yourself, networking (some put it in marketing)

Key tools that Jennifer uses in her business:

Dubsado, Convertkit, Trello, Good old notebook and paper or whiteboard

How do spreadsheets and business finances make your life better? Think I’m full of it?



Today we’re talking self-employed and freelancer business finances 101. Treating your self-employed work and offerings as a business will bring more ease, structure, and stability into your life as a whole. Getting good at handling your business finances, and setting up the systems you need is self-care for your work, supporting you and nurturing you and your life, rather than draining you.



Have a question you want answered on the podcast? Email your host Eowyn your Q in text or audio form: hello@plumtreemoney.com I can’t wait to hear from you!



This week on the Creatives Do Money Podcast, Episode #31



We’re going to touch on:


Why is it important to put certain systems in place for yourself when you’re self-employed
The “I want that” element of getting good with business finances that is rarely discussed.
The most important thing to remember about business finances


Here are the simple but key habits and systems to put in place too set your creative self-employed business up for success:

Separate business and personal finances.

Why it’s important and will make life easier in the end.

Have a clear tailored-for-you Chart of Accounts, aka Business Finances Blueprint

What does that even mean, why you should care, and what is the basic structure of your Chart of Accounts

Stay up to date

How exactly this makes all the difference in your work as a whole

Prepare for taxes year round

What to think about and how exactly to do it

Savings in your business

Take care of your future self

Paying yourself

Why it’s so impactful to actually do this, and do it intentionally

The identity of a business owner



As a recent guest put it “it’s time for radically kind people to get comfortable with power and money.”



So, what if you could redefine ‘business owner’ for yourself, in a way that fits you, and invites you to take the financial management of your business and life seriously?



Lastly, I share a couple tips of how to get cracking with implementing (or updating) these systems for yourself



Resources / Links



Money Coaching with Eowyn - email hello@plumtreemoney.com